This Friday, October 14th, at 9PM, we have a special treat for AIGA Pivot attendees and lynda.com subscribers who are within traveling distance to Phoenix. As part of the Pivot—AIGA’s 2011 Design Conference in Phoenix, AZ—lynda.com will present a screening of our latest release in the Creative Inspirations series, Marian Bantjes, Graphic Artist. The screening will be in the beautiful Phoenix Symphony Hall and will be followed by Michael Bierut (Partner/Pentagram) interviewing Marian live on stage. I’ll be there to introduce the film along with series director Scott Erickson. If you’re attending the conference, your badge gets you into the screening. If you’re a lynda.com member, please go to http://marian.eventbrite.com/ to add yourself to the guest list. The theatre seats a total of 2,300 people, so we should have plenty of room! Hope you can make it.

This spring, lynda.com had a special screening of Richard Koci Hernandez: Multimedia Journalist at the Pacific Film Archive Theatre on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. Since we filmed this documentary, Koci has been granted a full time teaching position in the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. After the screening, Koci was interviewed by Jeremy Rue, a colleague in the graduate school, to talk about the film, his career, and to answer questions that have been posed to us since the film’s release. Many photographers had asked about the need to secure releases from his subjects when shooting his unique style of street photography. This answer and an update on Koci’s current projects are here as part of the Creative Inspirations bonus features.

During the filming of the Creative Inspirations:Mexopolis, Animation Studio, artist Jorge Gutierrez told us a compelling story about one of his most important influences as a child, MAD magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragones. Not being able to speak English, Jorge fell in love with Sergio’s wordless cartoons and told his father that this is what he wanted to do when he grew up.

As fate would have it, Jorge’s father went to architecture school with Sergio. His father drove him from Tijuana to ComicCon in San Diego to have Sergio explain to the young Jorge the importance of attending college. And there the story begins.

Twenty-three years had elapsed since they had seen each other, but we were able to arrange an emotional reunion at a quiet spot near the lynda.com studios. Join us in this latest bonus feature as Sergio reflects on some of the life experiences that have made him one of the most beloved cartoonists of our time.

From our most recent Creative Inspirations release, Stefan G. Bucher, Designer, Illustrator, and Writer, the documentary team is pleased to share some images from our location shooting. We covered a lot of ground with Stefan, from his workspace, to the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, to Skylight books for his book release celebration. As you’ll notice from the film, Stefan doesn’t exactly keep daylight hours. Other than our shoot at his alma mater (Art Center College of Design), we shot entirely at night, including wandering the streets of Pasadena at 3:00 a.m. in search of late-night groceries. The crew is still catching up on sleep. Enjoy!

Renegade Animation has pioneered digital 2D paperless animation with a unique all-Flash workflow—and a bunch of really great cartoons! Including Goofy Grape.

This installment of Creative Inspirations gives us an inside look at this innovative character animation studio, Renegade Animation. Partners Ashley Postlewaite and Darrell Van Citters describe how they left jobs with major studios to form their own company, and how they have been able to create a successful business that defies all the rules and provide a great working environment in the process.

Learn how these renegades have evolved traditional character animation into a completely digital workflow that provides greater creative expression and faster turnaround. And watch an entertaining interview with Goofy Grape in the introduction.

We recently released an amazing new Creative Inspirations title on former Time, Life and National Geographic photographer, Rick Smolan. Rick published the popular Day in the Life and 24/7 book series, among many other gorgeous works. Rick talks about how he became a photographer, what drives him to do the kind of work he does, discusses the ethics of photojournalism and talks with Lynda about his history and impact on multimedia publishing and digital technology. It’s really not to be missed.

We’re really excited to bring you this Creative Inspirations title featuring Jason Bentley, one of the music industry’s most influential radio and club DJs. During his fifteen years at L.A. stations KROQ and KCRW, he has helped such artists as Portishead, Jamiroquai, and The Chemical Brothers get a break in the music industry. Jason has reached a worldwide audience working as the music supervisor for video games, TV commercials, and major Hollywood films such as The Matrix trilogy. He continues to be a driving influence in the LA music scene through his popular radio programs, appearances at clubs and events, and remixes of current music. Visit him behind the scenes in Jason Bentley: Creative Inspirations.